I just bought a house at auction in Tetbury. Conveyancing is required. What is next?

Having exchanged you will need to choose a conveyancing practitioner quickly as you are faced with a fast approaching deadline in which to complete the purchase. Every auction property will have an associated auction set of papers. This should include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. In the case of leasehold premises the legal papers should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation specific to a leasehold property. You must pass this on to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

I am planning to move home in April. Should my conveyancing solicitor call the removal company on the completion day. Incidentally, can you suggest a removal company in Tetbury. Conveyancing firm was chosen before I stumbled across your website.

On the day of completion you can collect the keys from the selling agent but this can only be done once the previous owners solicitors inform the agent that they acknowledge receipt of the completion payment and the keys can be released. After that you will need to advise the removal company that they can start moving you in. We are not in a position to recommend a particular removal organisation but can help you locate a residential property solicitor in Tetbury or a solicitor with expertise in conveyancing in Tetbury.

I have paid off my mortgage with Virgin Money. I assume I don't need a Tetbury conveyancing practitioner on the Virgin Money panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your Virgin Money mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Virgin Money mortgage from the register. Virgin Money, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Virgin Money has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Virgin Money has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I understand that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Am I compelled to have this when acquiring a house in Tetbury? or Apparently there is a law dating back centuries that could mean that house owners residing in a parish church boundary will be compelled to pay for maintenance to the chancel within the church. Is this a legitimate concern for conveyancing in Tetbury?

Unless a prior acquisition of the house completed after 12 October 2013 you may take it that lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Tetbury to continue to recommend a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

I was pointed in your direction by a few property agents in Tetbury to select a conveyancer on your site. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to market your lawyers ahead of another?

We refuse to make any commission for directing people our way. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Tetbury where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Tetbury conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Tetbury Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Please note if it is fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Tetburylease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the property for a couple of years before you are eligible to extend the lease. Plenty Tetbury leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block levied by the management company. If you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, normally periodically accross the year. This could differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive. You should want to discover as much as possible regarding the company managing the block as they will either make life much easier or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues like the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of other people if they are happy with their service. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending the funds.

Do I cancel my mortgage payments with Nottingham as soon as a completion date for my sale in Tetbury has been agreed?

No, you must continue paying any mortgage payments to Nottingham pending the mortgage being discharged from the proceeds of sale as part of your Tetbury conveyancing.